45 Gazans nabbed for spying for Israel

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA, Palestine (AA) - The Gaza-based Palestinian Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday the arrest of some 45 Palestinians accused of collaboration with Israel’s operation to infiltrate Khan Younis in southeastern Gaza last November.

The announcement came in a video released Tuesday by the Hamas-run ministry, which also included apparent confessions of spying for Israel.

"Over the past years, we have succeeded in arresting many spies, and ultimately their fate was the gallows," Iyad al-Bazm, spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Gaza, told the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV channel.

"The occupation is trying to find spies to help it commit crimes against our people," he added.

Seven Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed in an undercover Israeli infiltration of Khan Younis on Nov. 11. The incident was followed by an Israeli military escalation against Gaza.